Confidence With Arm Balances

Arm balances are a fascinating asana because there has always been this “myth” that super arm strength is required to attempt, let alone master them. The truth is, it’s more about core strength and confidence combined.

A certain amount of arm strength is of course needed, but if you can hold Ardho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Dog) and Plank, then you definitely have the starting foundation for arm balances. Personally I love these kind of challenging poses because they give you the opportunity to play, and I also believe they are big confidence boosters. Remembering childhood days, we used to fling up into handstands and cartwheels’ with fearless ease and never worry about where we were going to land. Now in adulthood it’s a different story, I guess because we are more aware of the risks and what’s at stake if we happen to hurt ourselves in the process.

In this post I’m going to talk you through a preparation pose that is a really great core strengthener, followed by one of my most favorite arm balances:

Paripurna Navasana (Full Boat Pose) in stages:

Sitting in Dandasana (on your buttocks with both legs together and extended straight, feet flexed), bring your hands on the floor by your hips. Bend both knees bringing the feet towards the buttocks; lift the heels keeping the toes on the floor. Lean back to balance just behind your sits bones, drawing the navel back towards the spine and raise your arms to shoulder level with the palms facing each other; this is Stage 1. On an inhale raise both feet to be level with your knees, pressing through the balls of the feet and exhale lifting through the chest; this is Stage 2. Now extend and straighten both legs until your feet are at eye level; this is Stage 3. Continue to hold for as long as you can (at least 10 breaths), keeping your breath controlled and smooth, broadening through the collarbones and drawing the upper arms into the sockets.

Navasana is a great strengthener not only for the abdominals (core), but also for the hip flexors and thigh muscles.

Bakasana (Crane Pose):

Come into Chair Pose with your knees and feet together, heels lifted. Keeping the feet together, take the knees apart and bring your hands onto the floor shoulder distance apart, with fingers spread and wrist creases parallel to front of the mat. Crouch low in between the legs like a tiny little package and keeping the gaze looking forward rather than down, shift your weight slightly towards the fingertips. As you do this, hook the knees high up onto the outer arms and the heels will start to lift off the ground. Keep squeezing the knees onto the tops of the triceps and lift the toes off the ground, making sure to keep them together (or the entire inner edge of the feet). Draw the heels up to your sits bones and actively press into the floor as you work towards straightening your arms. Keep drawing the navel in and up, engaging the lower belly to support the lower back; at the same time, inflating into the upper back. Hold for at least 5 breaths and try to do at least 1 repetition.
The real trick to this pose is to keep the gaze forward rather than down; wherever you’re looking is where your head will go! And remember to breath.

Bakasana really works to strengthen and build the arms, shoulders and abdominals, but is also great for stamina and releasing the back muscles.

The key to tackling challenging arm balances is to remember that falling is perfectly acceptable; the most important thing is to smile and laugh, dust yourself off and get straight back up again. Always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.